Young victims keen to test out new V8 engine

ON Friday night five young friends set out for The Spit on the Gold Coast.

Thomas Bayer, a 16-year-old learner driver, had just fitted his Holden Statesman with a V8 engine and was keen to show off his wheels where car enthusiasts regularly congregate near Doug Jennings Park.

Unable to drive the V8 Statesman without an open licence holder at his side, Thomas had invited young parents Natasha Maggs and Allan 'Curly' Sullivan, both 20, to join him.

Their friend and fellow car lover, Kody Williams, 18, and his girlfriend Tiana Williams, 17, also went along for the late-night ride.

But the Statesman broke down on the Pacific Motorway at Coomera about 12.10am on Saturday, forcing the friends to pull onto the shoulder of the highway.

As the friends waited for a tow truck, a red Nissan Pulsar driven by 18-year-old Jordan Hayes-McGuinness from Ashgrove slammed into the back of the stationary sedan, sending it careering about 30 metres along the M1 where it burst into flames.

The Coomera crash scene on Friday night. Image: Seven News

The two couples - Natasha, Allan, Kody and Tiana - died in the broken down car.

Thomas, the sole survivor, crawled out the shattered front windscreen of the Statesman moments before it was completely engulfed in flames.